Five highlights in your travel week | 9 Aug

SeaLink … commencing the first ferry operation between Manly and Sydney’s new Barangaroo development.

The SeaLink Travel Group will commence operation of the Barangaroo Fast Ferry, the first direct ferry service from Manly to Barangaroo, from early September.

The service will operate daily between Manly Hotel Wharf No 3, and King Street Wharf 1, Barangaroo, and will depart every 30 minutes during peak hours Monday to Friday commencing 6.45am. On weekends the service will operate regularly from 9.30am through to 6pm.

Prices are from $8.90 one-way, with an 11-trip travel pass available from $7.50 per trip.

A lifetime’s memories … a Hannaford and Sachs lunch under an ancient fig tree.

A lifetime’s memories … a Hannaford and Sachs lunch under an ancient fig tree. Spend three days sampling the best of Kangaroo Island fresh produce and wines with Kangaroo Island Odysseys’ new three-day summer/spring tours.

All seasonal KIO food-and-wine tours are fully inclusive, including return flights from Adelaide to Kangaroo Island and all Adelaide airport transfers.

Explore the island with a private tour guide in luxury, air-conditioned 4x4 vehicles in small groups of no more than eight guests, with accommodation at the opulent Lifetime Private Retreats or Sea Dragon Lodge.

Experience a personalised vineyard and winery tour at Islander Estate Vineyard, Bay of Shoals Wines or Dudley Wines, taste locally distilled Gin and spirits at KI Spirits, sample a variety of delicious cheese and yoghurts at the Island Pure Sheep Dairy, stop at Island Beehive for a tour and honey tastings, sample the island’s freshest oysters at the Kangaroo Island Shellfish Oyster Farm Shed and enjoy a half-day fishing charter.

Dining experiences are arranged by Hannaford and Sachs, and showcase Kangaroo Island’s best seasonal food in a range of outdoor settings and stunning coastal locations.

Dine, for example, underneath the boughs and leaves of a massive, ancient fig tree planted by the early settlers more than 100 years ago.

The three-day ‘Sensations of Kangaroo Island Summer Tour – North Coast’, for instance, is priced at $2708 per person and includes all activities and meals, plus two-nights accommodation at Lifetime Private Retreats.

Curtis Stone … will officially open this year’s Margaret River Gourmet Escape.

Margaret River Gourmet Escape will return from November 16-19 with an appetising line-up of new events and talent, including Australian culinary hero Curtis Stone.

The event will feature more than 50 of the world’s leading food-and-wine personalities, including chefs such as Andre Chiang (Singapore), David Thompson (Thailand), Ashley Palmer-Watts (UK), Rodolfo Guzman (Chile), Alex Atala (Brazil), and Asia’s Best Female Chef, May Chow (Hong Kong).

Curtis Stone will officially open the festival at an Audi Gourmet Beach BBQ session in the pristine surrounds of Castle Bay Beach.

New events include The Great Soiree at Fraser Gallop Estate, The High Life (a helicopter lunch with Paul Iskov) and the Official Closing Party at the White Elephant Café.

Paying homage to Margaret River's 50th anniversary of commercial wine production, the festival will host a selection of exclusive wine events, with world-renowned wine critic Jancis Robinson (UK) joining the festivities, alongside other respected names such as James Halliday and Huon Hooke.